High Sky Trouble
by Jessie Wings
Summary: Four innocent pets and owners are charged with stealing from the Hidden Tower. Meanwhile, their friends have to stop a plot to take over Faerieland.
1. Arrested in Faerieland

aussiejewel, a Brown Uni, and her Angelpuss Kaiulani watched only with slight interest the football match she was sitting in front of. Her brothers and sisters and their guest, Alexa, were squabbling over some pass. aussiejewel sighed and inspected her hoof, as she was one of those Unis who would sooner die before allowing herself to chip her hoof.

The football playing pets & petpets involved were:

BeatofSaint01. Aussiejewel's big brother and old, old opponent. The constant rivalry between them provided a constant boredom cure. BeatofSaint01 was two weeks older than aussiejewel and much wiser. He believed in 'innocent til proven guilty' and therefore also believed that Jhudora wasn't evil! Unacceptable in aussiejewel's opinion... and that's where it all started. BeatofSaint01 was also a Christmas Scorchio... a right little Santa Claus.

Tigger2002guy. He was younger than aussiejewel and loved battledoming, practical jokes, and pretty much everything that aussiejewel hated. Well, you know the saying 'opposites attract'? They practically invented it. Tigger2002guy was fiercely loyal to both his sisters. He was also a Baby Kougra and had been for ages, thanks to Boochi. But tigger2002guy had grown used to it and even used it to his advantage... when plotting to give Jhudora a bad hair day, who would suspect that coot, wittle Kougwa Cub?

Blanche. She was very brainy and polite, although she had a good sense of humour and a hot temper, much like her owner, Jess. She was a Silver Lupe, but she also didn't like her colour very much and she wanted to be White. Although she certainly wasn't vain! Once, last August, aussiejewel had really envied her little sister, because Blanche seemed to get all the luck that, in aussiejewel's opinion, should have gone to her!

Kaiulani the Angelpuss was aussiejewel's well-groomed, perfect-looking, white Angelpuss. She was very polite to aussiejewel and all that, but really much preferred playing in the mud.

Thomas the Warf was BeatofSaint01's petpet, and he had been for four months. He had a rather weird sense of humour and sometimes pretended his name was Robert, because he thought that was funny. See what I mean...

Lilly the Snowbunny was good friends with Kaiulani and Christie. She was tigger2002guy's Snowbunny – the only petpet he had ever owned. Lilly also loved water puddles and jumping in them.

Christie was Blanche's Puppyblew, and was very cheerful and noisy! She loved yapping (and waking up Blanche, hehehe). She was part of a group of four with the other petpets, which they called the "Awesome Foursome".

Alexa was their guest, and her family was a little different. She had no brothers or sisters, but instead three petpets! Alexa had a higher IQ than Blanche's, although you can only be so intelligent and they were really quite similar. She was a Blue Uni, soon to be painted Brown (and months later, White!). She was a budding scientist and liked inventing walkie-talkies and robots... not many of which worked, because Alexa had to use whatever materials she could find, which was hard whenever she was not at the Space Station.

Lucky was her first petpet, who was a Puppyblew. Lucky was obedient and did what Alexa told him to do, but when there were no instructions Lucky was as mischievious as he wanted.

Hubbo was her Hopso. He liked boinging all over the place, but was usually very careful and he didn't knock over many vases and decorative ornaments.

FeiFei was Alexa's budding journalist Feepit. With her eyes and ears open, she was prepared for whatever story came her way. Unfortunately, life as an average Feepit didn't have many.

And then there were the owners of the two families: Jess, aussiejewel's owner, Australian, occasional Neopian Times writer and hot tempered funny person, and Zoe, American, who was Alexa's owner, who admired the Neopian Times very much but was still quite similar to Jess.

Alexa suddenly stopped and halted right where she was, and fell to the ground. The crowd, which now included Jess & Zoe, stopped and milled around her. aussiejewel trotted over to where Alexa had collapsed, and came just in time to hear Alexa start mumbling.

"Ugga... ugg ugg ugga..." Alexa groaned uncomftably, struck down with a very, very sore throat.

Zoe shrieked hysterically at the noise, like any caring owner should.

"Oh _no_!" aussiejewel cried, having run over to the action like I told you already. "Alexa dearie, the cure to Ugga Ugga is an unbuyable! We need to go on an emergency crusade to Faerieland!"

"Yeah, but there are no wars," Jess said, which merely confused everyone. But then again, Jess was weird like that.

In the high skies of clouds that we Neopians like to call Faerieland, the Healing Faerie was practising some of her ancient, and useful magic. Unfortunately, this didn't help her practicee very much.

"All of your Neopets gain 15 hit points! Wow, I'm getting better at this!" the Water Faerie at the Healing Springs cheerfully announced.

"_Ugga ug ga ugga!_" Alexa – the practicee - protested.

"Stupid Water Faerie..." Zoe muttered. "_Who_ would call that better, exactly?"

aussiejewel's gasp and yell pierced the air. "Quiet, quiet, quiet... I see Jhudora..."

I don't think we've mentioned yet aussiejewel's phobia of Jhudora. Let me explain. Once upon a time, Illusen's Glade got trashed by some _really_ evil saboteurs called 'Draconians'. Jess decided to do Jhudora's quests in the meantime, but wasn't prepared for Jhudora's opinions on mortals. So, Jhudora blew a fuse and threatened to curse aussiejewel. For aussiejewel, the threat hasn't expired yet, even though that was well over a year ago.

"Oh no," Jess said.

"I so need to hide..." aussiejewel finished.

"You do _not_ need to hide," BeatofSaint01 countered. "Where's the proof she's evil, I ask you?"

"In her face!" aussiejewel replied. "Gosh, anyone with such a minimal amount of makeup on their face _must_ be evil, for crimes against fashion for a start!"

"Hey!" cried Jess... who never wore makeup.

"aussiejewel! Haven't you realised that that means approximately 90% of the Neopian population?"

"Nope. But anyway... I so _do_ need to hide."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yah-huh."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yah-huh."

"Oh shush up!" Zoe yelled. "Just _both_ of you hide or else I'm going to draw Jhudora nearer by screaming!"

"Ugga ug!" Alexa agreed.

"But Jhudora doesn't walk _closer_ when someone screams," Jess pointed out. "She has to stay away, for fear of damage to her reputation!"

"What?" asked BeatofSaint01.

"I don't believe you!" aussiejewel cried, darting off in the direction of Faerie City. Hopefully, aussiejewel thought, she could do some shopping there, without the worry of Jhudora clouding her mind.

"Oi, aussiejewel!" Jess went after her... aussiejewel always charged to her bank account.

"C'mon everybody, off to Jhudora's Cloud!" BeatofSaint01 called cheerfully to the remaining group.

"_Hey!_" came the Illusen-loving Blanche's indignant response.

"That doesn't me I like Jhudora that much!" Zoe said.

"What?" Blanche asked, confused by Zoe's choice of words.

"Alexa and I want to go and find the others!" Zoe declared.

"_Ugga!_" agreed the still-sore-throated Alexa.

So, Zoe and Alexa went off to find their good friends.

"aussiejewel, where are we?" a bored Jess asked her pet.

"I don't know. A castle of some sort," aussiejewel answered crossly.

"_Faerie Castle? You ran us to Faerie Castle? You're going to make me buy from the Hidden Tower?_" Jess yelled.

"No way," aussiejewel replied. "I already have my cheapbies. They were only 5,000 each."

"Oh, that's a re- wait, five thousand? How many did you buy?"

"Ummm... six things?"

"aussiejewel! But anyway, what were they?"

"This cool-o Fyora doll, and this crystal ball! It _looks_ like a Jhudora's Crystal Ball, but the salesman assured me that it was just using the latest fashionable colours. Come to think of it, though, the latest NeoFashion magazine said hot pink was in... oh well! And then we have this lovely Mask of Coltzan replica. The real one's supposed to contain the power of King Coltzan himself, along with his crown! And then, there's..."

Jess looked on worriedly as aussiejewel kept pulling supposed Hidden Tower replicas from her brown sack. 30,000NP gone down the drain, and Jess had a nagging suspicion that there was something bad about the replicas of the Fyora doll, the Snow Faerie doll, the Mask of Coltzan, the Jhudora's Crystal Ball, the Fyora's Looking Glass and the Sunshine Shield.

"aussiejewel," Jess asked cautiously, "You don't think – you don't think that these might not actually be replicas, do you?"

"What idiot would make such a huge profit loss?" aussiejewel, the ever-conscious shopper asked.

"I don't know, it's just that... well... you're only allowed one Hidden Tower item per day, and he got six? And after spending an odd thirteen million neopoints, he sells everything for only thirty thousand? Aussiejewel, I think you've been scammed."

"Nonsense," aussiejewel smiled. "Everyone knows the Hidden Tower has – goodness, is! - the greatest security system in Neopia. How could a scammer possibly get in? I'm sure he was just a really, really nice billionaire."

"A really, really nice billionaire?" Jess shook her head. Aussiejewel was so naïve.

aussiejewel realised she was fighting a losing battle. The other things she could care less about, but she had to keep her mirror.

"Let's leave," was aussiejewel's suggestion. "Except for the mirror – that is _such_ a cool mirror!"

That seemed like a half-good plan – until they noticed that behind them there were two angry Grundo guards.

"You're under arrest," began one.

"Oh _no_!" cried Jess.


	2. Theories and Suspicions

"A really, really nice billionaire?" Jess shook her head. Aussiejewel was so naïve.

aussiejewel realised she was fighting a losing battle. The other things she could care less about, but she had to keep her mirror.

"Let's leave," was aussiejewel's suggestion. "Except for the mirror – that is _such_ a cool mirror!"

That seemed like a kind of good plan – until the noticed that behind them there were two angry Grundo guards.

"You're under arrest," began one.

"Oh _no_!" cried Jess.

"Gee, looks like we have some adventure here, while I'm riding on your back," Zoe commented.

"Ugga ug ug ugga," said Alexa. "Ugga ug ug ugga ga?"

"What?" asked Zoe. "Don't tell me we forgot to cure you after all!"

"Ugga ugga," Alexa croaked sadly.

"So after all this flying, we have to fly back to the Healing Springs?"

"Ga," was Alexa's small response.

"Well then... off we go, I suppose!"

Alexa and Zoe turned back and headed off for the Healing Springs.

"Your pet gains three hit points! Sorry, that was the best I could do!" the Healing Faerie smiled prettily, and nearly convinced Zoe to forgive her.

"_Ugh_!" Zoe cried as they walked away. "You _still_ have Ugga Ugga, and she _still_ grants you hit points!"

"Ugga," Alexa replied grumpily. "Ugga ug ga ugga do now?"

"What?" Zoe turned and looked at Alexa, convinced she heard a 'do now'. "What was that?"

"What'll ug ugga now?" Alexa ventured.

"Alexa, you're recovering!" Zoe celebrated.

"How, I ugga?" Alexa wondered.

"No idea, but you can talk now!" Zoe was so happy, she nearly forgot about Jess & aussiejewel, until Alexa reminded her.

"Ugga find the others!"

"Stupid guards!" Jess was yelling at the Grundos. "As aussiejewel will tell you, she was tricked into thinking they were replicas from some salesman... right, aussiejewel?"

"I chipped a hoof!" aussiejewel whimpered. "You'll pay, Grundo guard! Just wait til my brother gets here, tigger2002guy, he'll beat you soooo easily! I bet you're not even suscribed to NeoFashion magazine!"

"aussiejewel!" Jess cried, exasperated. "These are the guards of Faerie Castle, arresting innocent bystanders like us 24 hours a day! Do they have time to read NeoFashion magazine?"

"Yes!" cried aussiejewel. "And I want my mirror back too. I bought it fair and square, from the really nice billionaire!

According to aussiejewel, anyone who sold her a mirror wasn't a robber.

"aussiejewel, you bought it fair and square from someone who didn't steal it fair and square! What about the Hidden Tower, the Faerie Queen, the normal people who actually _buy_ stuff from the Hidden Tower?"

"Who cares?"

Jess sighed. aussiejewel was always a shopper first and kind second. aussiejewel wouldn't return her mirror until she was given a court order. And even then, maybe not!

"Ugga ga, Faerie Castle. Do you think ugga ugga Hidden Tower?" Alexa asked.

"Um, you're the one with the brains!" Zoe said, waiting for her intelligent pet to answer so she didn't have to.

"I don't ugga, they _sprinted_ ga, not _flew_ ga," Alexa responded.

"So you're saying that we've got to trespass?" Zoe asked.

"Ugga want Jess back or _ug_?!"

Zoe sighed. "I guess so. Let's go."

Alexa heaved at the huge double doors and jumped back as she saw aussiejewel and Jess being dragged by two tough-looking Grundo guards.

"_Hey!_ Watch what you're doing! You're trying to kill a famous person here!" Zoe yelled.

"You're _also_ under arrest!" one Grundo guard announced. "For aiding and abetting a crime!"

Alexa sneered. "Ug crime?"

"What are you talking about?" Zoe asked. "Jess and aussiejewel weren't involved in a crime!"

"They were found in posession of stolen goods," one guard said. "Worth up to thirteen million altogether."

"aussiejewel was tricked into buying them," Jess told Alexa and Zoe. "She spent 30,000NP of my money on that, too!"

The guards ignored Jess, and took all four to the Faerieland Jail.

"What's happened to them?" Blanche worried. She was quite good at worrying, and this time she'd worried herself into a frenzy. Which wasn't hard because her owner, sister, friend and friend's owner had all gone missing. Which would have worried most people but because she was Blanche, she was _doubly_ worried.

"Shh," BeatofSaint01 said. "We'll learn something soon."

"Hey, look at this!" cried tigger2002guy. They all ran to the window, where a pink letter with wings was flying towards them.

"Now that's what I call speedy," tigger2002guy said, plucking the letter out of the air. "_Misters tigger2002guy and BeatofSaint01, and Miss bubbles2003neo_... oh no, this doesn't look good."

Jhudora plucked the letter out of his paws and began reading it herself.

"Oi!" yelled tigger2002guy angrily. "That's my family and friends! Minemineminemine..."

"Well, there's some good news and some bad news," Jhudora said, ignoring him.

"The good news?" asked Blanche hopefully.

"They haven't fallen into the 'wrong hands', as they say. But then again, I _am_ the 'wrong hands'."

"And the bad?" asked BeatofSaint01.

"opalgirl26 and aussiejewel have been arrested on six accounts of robbery. And diamondzoe4 and alexasparkleli have been arrested on one account of aiding and abetting a crime."

Lucky was horrified at this news, and so quietly slipped away to find his lost owner.

"Ugga ugga brain, think of ga ugga ug ugga us out of this situation!" Alexa repeated to herself.

Zoe whistled. "Uh, I just wish that Adam was here to clear us up."

"Don't," Alexa warned.

"_What?!_"

"Ugga sing a lullaby," Alexa reasoned. "That's the ugga ug I can think of."

"Ugh, can't we just go to sleep?"

"Ugga ugga ugga meditation?"

"I don't think we could get them to meditate," Zoe replied.

Jess and aussiejewel had completely lost track of the conversation and were just playing noughts and crosses on the cell wall.

A familiar scritch-scratch sounded in the jail. Many prisoners looked up, but it was just Alexa's Lucky.

"We finded you!" Lucky announced.

"Ugga!" Alexa declared. "Lucky, you ugga cute-face those ga ug guards there, ugga we'll ug sneak ga and get BeatofSaint01 to get Jhudora ugga!"

"Okie! Hey guards! We're hungry!" Lucky called.

"Aw, such a cute petpet!" one guard said.

"And look! It's pretending to be hungry!" pointed out the other.

"Mom, ugga ga Plan B," Alexa sighed.

"Alright, let's go!" Zoe said cheerfully.

"_BeatofSaint01! Ugga your help ga!_"

"_We need Jhudora for once if you want to get your owner back!_"

"_BeatofSaint01, ugga there?! Bring Jhudora ga! Ga ug want your mom to be fried ga ug ugga or ga?!_"

Zoe lowered her voice. "I have a feeling that that's not the _real_ Fyora, I mean, she let _thousands_ of other pets into the Faerie Castle before, right?!"

"_Ug mom says ga ug Fyora that wrote ga note isn't ugga same! I'm sure ugga wouldn't ugga!_"

Jess looked up from her twenty-seventh game of noughts and crosses then, as one of the guards had handed her a note.

"Oh no," she breathed.

"Whaat?" aussiejewel moaned.

"We're going to be tried... tonight."

"For what?" Zoe asked. "Clearly, aussiejewel wouldn't rob the Hidden Tower, would she? Or you? And if you didn't rob the Hidden Tower, how could we have helped you?"

"No... but we need to _prove_ it! How can we prove it? I suppose we'd need to call Queen Fyora up as a witness... but she's the judge! Are we allowed to call the judge up? And what if a Uni _did_ rob the Hidden Tower?" Jess was thinking.

"Mum, you're fantastic!" aussiejewel yelled happily. "A Techo sold me the items!"

"Really?" asked Jess. "That's great. But did _he_ buy the items from the real thief?"

"Um, I don't think so," answered aussiejewel. "He had a black coat, and a black mask, and a black outfit... except he was a bright Red Techo. Funny that. But anyway, what innocent bystander would dress as a thief?"

"Circumstancial evidence," dismissed Jess. "Circumstancial evidence is what they got us for too."

"Well, it's the best I've got," replied a grumpy aussiejewel.

"Well, you know what I still think?" Zoe asked.

"What?" asked Jess.

"I think that that's not the real Fyora."

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't know..." Zoe shook her head. "It's just a feeling. But, I mean... robbing the Hidden Tower and kidnapping Fyora at the same time... makes sense, right? Blame it on some innocent bystanders and you're covered, because everyone believes you're the Faerie Queen. It's a perfect plan."

"Ugga ug other faeries?" asked Alexa. "Surely ugga tell they're an impostor."

"I know," Zoe said. "The only thing that fails against my theory."

"Well, first things first," Jess said, "clearing our name. We can deal with this Fyora business afterwards."

"But Fyora's our witness, remember? If she's an impostor, our case would be ruined."

"I know, I know. But they have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that we're guilty, right?"

"Right," Zoe said.

"So, where are our disguises? Our plans? Our hideout? All things a false Fyora would be likely to get wrong... having never have seen either of us, because of that Techo sidekick."

"And if they don't?"

"Well, we're in big trouble then, aren't we?"


	3. Conspiracy

"I know, I know. But they have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that we're guilty, right?"

"Right," Zoe said.

"So, where are our disguises? Our plans? Our hideout? All things a false Fyora would be likely to get wrong... having never have seen either of us, because of that Techo sidekick."

"And if they don't?"

"Well, we're in big trouble then, aren't we?"

Blanche had finally managed to worry herself into a nap, while tigger2002guy was boredly munching on a biscuit. BeatofSaint01 was looking out the window into the clear night sky, hoping for more NeoMails. Jhudora was sitting on a cushy armchair and reading a book. The funny thing was, though, that she was a supposedly really evil faerie and she needed reading glasses.

Suddenly, though, Jhudora dropped her book and sat quite still. It was the first change in routine for ages, and Blanche, who was a light sleeper, woke up.

Jhudora concentrated on the purple wall in front of her, as intently as if something horrible was happening there. Blanche stared at the wall too, but nothing had happened to it.

"No... no..." Jhudora mumbled. "You can't be as foolish as all _that_..."

Blanche watched with interest as Jhudora spoke to the wall.

"Fool!" Jhudora yelled at the wall, as she stood up abruptly and her chair fell down onto tigger2002guy. "How do you suppose to get away with this? The Faeries aren't as stupid as that! They'll see something, hear something... very soon they'll know exactly what happened! And those Neopians... well, of course they're _stupid,_ but not _that stupid_!"

She paused again, as if listening to something more.

"No, I didn't! And you won't be able to get away with telling them something as far-fetched as _that_!"

Another pause.

"Yes, I know about my reputation, but they'd have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that I was guilty, and with yourself as key witness...!"

Another pause.

"Oh, I know they're all biased against me. That accursed newspaper, of course. But I will _not_ give them a reason to be biased against me!"

Jhudora's eyes suddenly went into focus again, as she looked at the wall dazedly.

"Yes..." she mumbled. "Break off when you're fighting a losing battle..."

"What was that about?" asked tigger2002guy. "Besides, your chair crushed my tail!" He mewed pathetically.

She turned around to face the three pets in her cloud.

"Come now, dears," Jhudora said. "I believe we have a plot to stop."

All four prisoners were sitting, quite bored, in their cell now.

"We have to be tried soon," Jess said finally. "It went dark hours ago."

"No, just half an hour ago," Zoe replied... as she was smart enough to bring her watch.

Jess walked over to the bars to her cell and shook them rapidly.

"OI!" she yelled. "_Getting bored in here!_"

The Grundo Guards laughed at her stupidly.

"Thanks for the help," she mumbled.

"This is sooo stupid," aussiejewel said. "I just _know_ that I'm going to have a bad hair day at court. I mean, where are my grooming supplies? And they confiscated my mirror! What am I going to do?"

"Go without your grooming supplies?" Jess suggested. "Ah, this is more like it."

She gracefully took a note from yet another Grundo Guard.

"What does THIS one say?" asked Zoe.

"Fifteen minutes til trial time," Jess replied. "Apparently our court appearance was scheduled for seven-thirty."

"AAAAARGHHH!" yelled aussiejewel.

"What now?" asked Jess.

"Grooming supplies! I need my brush, and my mirror, and my eyeshadow, and everything. _Gimme!_" aussiejewel ran at the lock with her horn. It just hurt her head.

"What ugga ugga to do?" Alexa asked. She'd been rather quiet because of her random uggas everywhere.

"Stick to the plan," Zoe said. "We can't have a lawyer, unfortunately... who made up that dumb law?"

"Faerieland is an extremely law-abiding country," Jess mumbled distantly. "Most of the Dark Faeries aren't the world domination type at all."

"Thank you, Neopedia," was aussiejewel's sarcastic comment.

"But it's very important," Jess said.

Zoe nodded and aussiejewel grumpily sat down. "I still want my grooming supplies! Ooh... just thinking about it... lipstick and eyeshadow and hoof polish and a brush and... I want my mirror back, too!"

Alexa, who had been watching aussiejewel with interest, suddenly remembered something she had read long, long ago.

"aussiejewel," Alexa said kindly. "Ugga an idiot. Uni's horns ugga."

"What about Uni's horns?" aussiejewel asked hopefully.

"Ug magic," repeated Alexa.

"Of course!" aussiejewel celebrated awhile, then set about trying to create herself a first-class grooming kit, complete with a mirror.

"Why isn't it working?" aussiejewel asked.

"Natural ugga power is ugga weak," Alexa croaked. "It ugga create or ugga things, only changes ugga."

"Bad," aussiejewel said. She concentrated really hard for about two minutes, and then - poof! - her fur was wonderfully brushed, and hey sparkly eyeshadow applied.

"Now I want my mirror back!" aussiejewel announced crossly.

Jhudora ran along to Faerie City, with Blanche, tigger2002guy and BeatofSaint01 following close behind.

"Let us in," she commanded the guard to Faerie City... yet another Grundo.

"Can't miss," replied the Grundo Guard. "Orders."

Jhudora stared intently into the Grundo Guard's eyes, and repeated slowly, "you will let us in."

"I will let you in..." muttered the Grundo Guard obediently, and he swung open the gates for Jhudora and her three Neopet companions to enter.

"What was that?" asked Blanche.

"Hypnotism, dear. Never works on faeries though," was Jhudora's response. "Wow, I haven't been here in years."

It was still a starry night in Faerieland, but as the shops never closed down it was still easy to find your way around. Jhudora, still followed by her three Neopet companions, strode quickly up to Faerie Castle, which was guarded by (wow) a whole _two_ Grundo Guards.

"How are we going to get in this time?" BeatofSaint01 asked. "More hypnotism?"

"No dearie," answered Jhudora. "The second one would break off hypnotic contact to the first."

"Well then," asked tigger2002guy, "how _are_ we going to get in?"

"Leave that to me," Jhudora replied, and cast a semi-transparent green fog out of her wand. It swirled around the four of them, with a magical effect that only Jhudora knew of at that moment.

"What's this?" asked tigger2002guy.

"Shroud," answered Jhudora.

"But that's only for creatures of good faith, right?" Blanche asked - back to the worrying, you see.

"What makes you think these bozos don't have 'good faith'?"

"Nothing much," smiled Blanche.

The two girls, one Blue Uni and one glamorous Brown Uni were led out into the courtroom. Because Fyora apparently couldn't be bothered to have two separate trials, all four had to be tried at the _same_ trial. Which wasn't actually a bad thing, come to think of it.

"What's our defence again?" aussiejewel asked.

"The Techo sold you the items, remember, and everything else just... happened," Jess reminded her.

"Oh yeah. And our witness is?"

"Fyora."

"What if we can't call up the judge after all?"

"Honestly, aussiejewel, you're turning into your sister," Jess laughed.

"Sorry, it's just... I've never been arrested before!"

Silence was called for a second later, and everyone had to stand up and sit down again for the judge herself, Queen Fyora.

"Firstly," said Queen Fyora, "we are called here today to decide the verdict and/or sentence of Miss opalgirl26, Miss diamondzoe4, Miss aussiejewel and Miss alexasparkleli, on six accounts of robbery and one account of aiding and abetting a crime, on this day of 20th Awakening, year 6."

"That doesn't sound good," Jess whispered.

"This doesn't _look_ good, either," aussiejewel commented. "The prosecution lawyer is the same Red Techo that sold me all this!"

"What?" Zoe turned her head around to stare at the prosecution lawyer. As she'd never actually seen aussiejewel's Red Techo, she didn't know for sure... but the prosecution lawyer sure was a Red Techo, now donning a lawyer's wig and black cloak.

"Ugga awful," muttered Alexa. "The verdict's fixed ugga, I'm sure ugga!"

Jhudora and company were running up the stairs in Faerie Castle now, to the top of the tower. tigger2002guy was very good at this, but Blanche and BeatofSaint01 were very tired.

"Why are we running up these stairs anyway?" asked BeatofSaint01. "Can't we use the elevator or something? We're invisible?"

"But dearie, what if someone walks into us?" was Jhudora's response. "No, we're much safer on the stairs. Besides, I have some business I need to clear up."

"What business would that be?" asked Blanche worriedly.

"Never you mind, dear," Jhudora answered. "Not yet. Not now. Perhaps you'll work it out as we go along."

"But mum and-"

"Don't worry, we'll get to them. But it is absolutely essential that we figure out this mess first."

"Why?"

Jhudora stopped, turned and looked at her squarely in the eye. "The world goes on without your mother. But without the Faerie Queen, Faerieland could become a lawless mess. Imagine a war that could leave Faerieland in ruins... just like Maraqua."

Then she turned around again and continued up the stairs.


	4. The Plot Thickens

"Why are we running up these stairs anyway?" asked BeatofSaint01. "Can't we use the elevator or something? We're invisible?"

"But dearie, what if someone walks into us?" was Jhudora's response. "No, we're much safer on the stairs. Besides, I have some business I need to clear up."

"What business would that be?" asked Blanche worriedly.

"Never you mind, dear," Jhudora answered. "Not yet. Not now. Perhaps you'll work it out as we go along."

"But mum and-"

"Don't worry, we'll get to them. But it is absolutely essential that we figure out this mess first."

"Why?"

Jhudora stopped, turned and looked at her squarely in the eye. "The world goes on without your mother. But without the Faerie Queen, Faerieland could become a lawless mess. Imagine a war that could leave Faerieland in ruins... just like Maraqua."

Then she turned around again and continued up the stairs.

"For my first witness," announced the Techo Lawyer, "I call up Miss aussiejewel."

aussiejewel stood up gracefully and walked even more gracefully to the witness box.

"Are you Miss aussiejewel, the Brown Uni?"

"What do you think? Of course I am!"

"Fine then," announced the Techo Lawyer. "Miss Brown Uni, you were found at 5:26pm NST in posession of six stolen goods. Is this correct?"

"My _name_ is aussiejewel!" answered aussiejewel.

"Miss Brown Uni, that is beside the point. Would you please answer the question?"

"My _name_ is aussiejewel!"

"Miss Brown Uni. Is it true that you were found at 5:26pm NST in posession of a sack of stolen goods?"

"My _name_ is aussiejewel!"

"Miss Brown Uni, it would do good for you to answer the question."

"My _name_ is aussiejewel!"

"Oh no," muttered Jess desperately.

The stairs seemed endless to Blanche and BeatofSaint01, although Jhudora and tigger2002guy were still going strong. The group had been in silence several minutes, and they run up at least a hundred steps.

"Nearly there," Jhudora said finally, as she came up to the end of the stairs. There was no door or wall in front of them, merely a gaping rectangular hole to the long path held up high outside.

"This is there?" Blanche asked in disbelief. There was nothing there.

"Of course," Jhudora answered. She walked briskly over to a point on the bridge-type thing from one tower to the next. She stopped and knelt somewhere by the wall. As the three pets watched in awe and wonder she started muttering a spell they could not hear.

Blanche was the first to see it. "Oh look, look!" she cried happily.

Queen Fyora herself faded into view, regal even though she was unconscious.

"What was _THAT?_" asked tigger2002guy. "Another invisibility spell?"

"Yes," answered Jhudora. "The fool made a spell so only those involved with the plot could see her."

"And how were you involved with the plot?" asked Blanche, back in worry-mode.

"Stupid thing seems to think I started it," Jhudora said, then stood up.

"This is about the time," she said, "you need a laboratory."

"A laboratory?" asked Blanche. "What for?"

"Brewing a potion to revive Fyora!"

BeatofSaint01 couldn't resist gloating at Blanche, as if to say, 'see, she's not evil after all!'

"Your Highness. Can you _please_ command Miss aussiejewel to answer the question!"

Five minutes later. aussiejewel had said nothing other than "my _name_ is aussiejewel" for that long. _Trust the opposition to choose the vainest witness,_ Jess thought.

"Miss aussiejewel, you will answer the question or be removed from this court and we will proceed without you," Fyora announced curtly.

"Fine," she grumbled.

"Miss aussiejewel," announced Techo Lawyer (for that was how Jess thought of him). "You were found at 5:26pm NST in posession of the following stolen items: a Faerie Queen doll worth 2 million, a Fyora's Looking Glass worth 2 million, a Mask of Coltzan worth 3.7 million, a Snow Faerie Doll worth .75 of a million, a Sunshine Shield worth .8 of a million, and a Jhudora's Crystal Ball worth 3 million, adding up to 12.25 million. Is this correct?"

"Yes," answered aussiejewel finally.

"Do you mind telling me," said Techo Lawyer, "how you get these items?"

"I... I bought them," aussiejewel replied.

"Who from?" asked Techo Lawyer laughingly. "They were stolen, then they're found with you in a brown sack!"

"I bought them from a Red Techo," aussiejewel said. Jess and Zoe both realised that aussiejewel was trying not to be biased, which was hard because Techo Lawyer was!

"Surely, if you bought them from a Red Techo, you know his or her name?"

"You... I don't know his name," aussiejewel conceded.

"Don't know his name?" Techo Lawyer laughed. "How are we supposed to believe you if we don't know his name?"

"I don't know his name," aussiejewel repeated, but then stood up and continued. "But I don't know his name, because it was _YOU!_"

aussiejewel leaped out of the witness box and over to attack Techo Lawyer. Fyora's eyes glowed fiercely and aussiejewel fell to the ground, instantly knocked out.

"What have you done to my pet?" Jess demanded.

"She was about to commit yet another violation of the law," Fyora patiently explained. "It is just a simple pacifying spell; it should wear off in the next two hours."

"_TWO HOURS?_"

Blanche stared out at the clear nighttime sky sadly. The real Fyora was unconscious and with them, while the fake Fyora was presiding over a court hearing her mother, sister and two friends. All in all, it was a rotten night.

"How much longer?" she turned and demanded of Jhudora. "This is the longest night I've ever been through!"

"Shush," Jhudora said, as she conjured yet another cup of water.

"What're you doing now?" tigger2002guy asked.

"Trying to use Water of Life," Jhudora answered.

"But you're a Dark Faerie!"

"I've already cast Shadow Health," she replied. "I can only try for this one. If I succeed, she'll be revived much faster."

"What if you don't succeed?" tigger2002guy asked curiously.

"We'll have to try the old icy water trick!" she said. "Please be quiet now."

She muttered a spell to try and turn the water into the mystical Water of Life. Nothing happened.

So she muttered the spell again, more fiercely. The water started to bubble, but then boil. She threw the cup away fiercely.

"Oh no!" cried Blanche, annoyed - and worried again.

"What now?" asked Jhudora frustratedly, as she conjured another cup of water.

"Look!" Blanche pointed to the sky, and Jhudora looked up.

Silhouetted by the moonlight, dozens of purple flying motorbikes soared through the air spectacularly.

"An air performance?" Jhudora suggested. "A crazy Faerie Cloud Race?"

But no. The flying motorbikes turned and soared straight towards them.

"What do we do?" asked Blanche, worried again. "We have the unconscious Faerie Queen with us, remember!"

Jhudora stepped away from Fyora and walked slightly towards the wall, so she was two metres away from it. She watched as the purple motorbikes landed spectacularly, one by one, in a straight line along that wall.

"What do you want?" Jhudora demanded.

"Glad to see you're here," said one of them. "Now if you'll step away from her..."

"Step away? You don't know what you're dealing with, Maelstra! You're so young and naïve. You think you can just _replace the Faerie Queen_ and have no one notice?"

"No one has yet," Maelstra replied. "And why should they? Jahanara is a perfect duplicate."

"Duplicate? Shallow too! I'm not talking about looks, I'm talking about the fact that there'll be a war, you know! Neopians will flood up to Faerieland as warriors, determined to save the day and be a hero... but REALLY, they'll leave Faerieland in ruins! I mean, come on - we're a country in the clouds!"

Jhudora took a step towards Maelstra. Blanche felt sure she would have stamped her hand on a table if she had one handy.

"War," Maelstra laughed. "Neopia has certainly had a war before, sweetie. Remember Meridell? Besides, darling, you're assuming one very important thing."

"And what assumption am I making?" Jhudora said softly, for she was a foot taller than Maelstra.

"You're making the assumption that," Maelstra explained impatiently, as though this were the thousandth time, "people are going to find out."

"Of course they will," Jhudora said. "The Faerie Queen is beloved by many - I'm sure some know all about her, much more than Jahanara!"

"Stand aside, please," Maelstra wasn't known for her patience at all.

"You can't make me!" Jhudora cried obstinately.

"You're right," Maelstra replied cheerfully. Then she winked. "Ta-ta, dears!"

The crowd of motor bikes flew away at once, rather surprisingly.

"At least the Faerie Queen is safe," Blanche sighed happily.

Jhudora gasped as she turned around.

"The Faerie Queen... she's gone!"

"Gone?" asked Blanche. "Surely... she can't be..." Blanche turned around, horrified that it might be true. "_she's gone!_"

"What's happened?" BeatofSaint01 asked.

"Transportation," Jhudora said angrily. "Normally used for inanimate objects. It takes a great deal of power to transport animate ones, like faeries..." she shuddered.

"What? What is it?" tigger2002guy asked.

"What if..." she thought, her mind obviously coming up with some sort of theory.

"What if WHAT?" asked Blanche impatiently.

"What if," replied Jhudora, "They were draining away Fyora's power reserves, to Maelstra? Fyora couldn't defend herself, after all... what if they were draining her power to Maelstra... and what if Jahanara's merely a puppet queen, to be disposed of when the real Faerie Queen is a Grey Faerie?"

"What if this is much more than a matter for Faerieland?" Blanche asked, having caught on to the train of thought.


	5. Invisibility and Solutions

"The Faerie Queen... she's gone!"

"Gone?" asked Blanche. "Surely... she can't be..." Blanche turned around, horrified that it might be true. "_She's gone!_"

"What's happened?" BeatofSaint01 asked.

"Transportation," Jhudora said angrily. "Normally used for inanimate objects. It takes a great deal of power to transport animate ones, like faeries..." she shuddered.

"What? What is it?" tigger2002guy asked.

"What if..." she thought, her mind obviously coming up with some sort of theory.

"What if _what?_" asked Blanche impatiently.

"What if," replied Jhudora, "They were draining away Fyora's power reserves, to Maelstra? Fyora couldn't defend herself, after all... what if they were draining her power to Maelstra... and what if Jahanara's merely a puppet queen, to be disposed of when the real Faerie Queen is a Grey Faerie?"

"What if this is much more than a matter for Faerieland?" Blanche asked, having caught on to the train of thought.

The court was having a dinner break, to (surprise surprise) eat dinner. The group was in their cell again, aussiejewel peacefully knocked out on the bed. Jess was very worried. The court case was doing slendidly - if you were the prosecution. It wasn't _fair_, she thought, how could they let the person who implicated aussiejewel argue a court case against aussiejewel... and herself and her friends? _It just wasn't fair!_

Zoe said, rather suddenly, "Well, that went badly."

"I know," Jess muttered. "How can they let that idiotic Techo prosecute against us when _we know_ that he is the guilty one? How can he be so... ugh!"

"I don't know," said Zoe.

"Ugga," added Alexa.

"Alexa?" Jess asked hopefully.

"Well... ugga one thing," Alexa said, breathing deeply.

"Go on!" Zoe yelled excitedly.

"Ugga Faerie Queen," Alexa said, "ugga impostor... ugga kidnap the real Ugga Queen... as _that's_ ugga crime, more important ugga case ugga robbery."

"The Faerie Queen's an impostor and the real one's been kidnapped and that's why there's this bungled up robbery case, so no one's paying attention to the more important one, which is the kidnapping of the Faerie Queen?" Zoe asked super-hyper-quickly.

"Ugga!" Alexa agreed triumphantly.

"You mean..." Jess said, horrified. "We'll almost certainly going to be found guilty, and then Zoe and I will be frozen for scamming the Hidden Tower, and you guys will be thrown into either jail or the pound?"

"Uh oh," Alexa said sadly. "Ugga hadn't thought ugga..."

"_Ugh!_" Zoe yelled angrily. "I don't want to be frozen for something I _really didn't do!_"

So, Zoe stood up and tried to climb through the bars.

"Zoe!" Jess said. "You're going to be seen!"

"No," Zoe replied. "Alexa has air and water elements in her Uni magic. Alexa, if you would be so kind, turn me invisible."

Alexa sighed resignedly and Zoe faded away.

"_Cool!_" Zoe said cheerfully. "I look so awesome... I'm completely invisi- oops..."

Zoe suddenly remembered the Grundo Guards, who were bound to hear her.

"Wish me luck," Zoe whispered, as she carefully crept through the bars - and made a huge _clang_ noise. To cover up for her friend, she shook the bars to make it look like she was just frustrated and that no one had turned invisible and was escaping from jail right now.

"Ugga luck," said Alexa worriedly.

"Just us two now," Jess mumbled unhappily.

"Ugga," Alexa agreed.

Blanche was on the verge of crying by eight fifteen. "I feel so utterly useless," she complained.

"We're not doing nothing," Jhudora argued. "Hopefully we should be able to do something a bit more useful soon."

"Argh, I agree with Blanche," BeatofSaint01 complained. "And what are you doing anyway?"

"Trying to thing of a way to rescue and revive Fyora," Jhudora explained.

"Why?" Blanche asked, enlightened with a single ray of hope.

"Well, I do think Fyora's a stuck-up, prejudiced brat, but we have to rescue and revive Queen Fyora and then get her to sort out our Maelstra and Jahanara friends."

"But we don't know where she's hidden!"

"No... but there is a way to find out. Goodness, why didn't I think of this before? I don't have long to sort this mess out in..."

"How long?" Blanche asked.

"About as long," answered Jhudora, "As your friends' and family's court case."

"You sure can come up with good cliffhangers," tigger2002guy laughed.

Jhudora glared at him angrily.

He stopped laughing.

"You three keep well out of sight. I have a vision to make."

The three pets went to the other end of the raised path, out of eyeshot but still in earshot.

"I would like to join you," they heard Jhudora say.

"No, I'm serious! What was I thinking, yelling at you? I mean, yours might just be the best world domination plan ever! I mean, think about it! Starting a major war would be a perfect way to snatch the planet out from under them while they weren't looking, right? Brilliant!"

A pause.

"No, I am _not_ just saying this so I can pass it off as my own idea. How daft do you think I am? Not that daft, surely!"

Another pause.

"Can I come, see you in person? Just so I can be sure you trust me, of course."

Yet another pause.

"Thank you," Jhudora said, and turned away.

"You've done it?" Blanche cried excitedly. "We can save the whole of Neopia from war?"

"Within reason," Jhudora said. "But we must remember this: we have - oh - maybe an hour or two to save Neopia in. These could well be the most exciting two hours you've seen in a long time."

"_Yay!_" tigger2002guy yelled. "I love adventures, and action, and lots of fun stuff. We could even be in the Neopian Times one day, wouldn't that be fun? Ooh, this is going to be _so fun_, just like the Faerieland chapter in NeoQuest II! Saving the whole of Faerieland from Dark Faerie rule... awesome, and so much fun!"

All at the scene rolled their eyes.

"Where is Zoe?" Jess demanded, as court resumed at eight-forty. "Surely, she can't miss her own trial!"

"Ugga hope she didn't ugga trouble," Alexa said nervously. "Ugga sleeping, ugga gone, what a great start!"

"I hope aussiejewel wakes up soon, too," Jess said. "She's my first Neopet, after all."

"Well, technically, aquablue200 was your first Neopet," Alexa pointed out.

Jess glared at her. "Hey, I owned her all of one day! Besides, who said you were allowed to get better?"

"Nobody," Alexa said, smiling. But then she stopped smiling. "Court's going to resume soon. If you get frozen, Jess, along with Zoe, I..."

"Don't think like that," Jess replied resolutely. "We're going to be fine."

Christie the Puppyblew woke up and yawned. She was inside Jhudora's Cloud still, but she sensed something wrong... there was a loud noise, a consistent banging. Christie thought about what the noise that sounded suspiciously like someone knocking at the door could be.

Kaiulani the Angelpuss woke up too, but she was more intelligent (for a petpet) and knew what the noise was.

"Christie don't you fink we should get dat door?" Kaiulani said hurriedly.

"No," Christie said, yawning still. "I fink noise go away if us don't get door. If open door, noisey fing come in and me can't sleep! Sleep good."

"Guys!" Zoe's voice came through from behind the door. "Guys, let me in. This isn't funny..."

Her talking prompted FeiFei the Feepit to wake up.

"_Zoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!_" FeiFei said cheerfully. "Zoe, open door!"

"I can't open the door," Zoe complained. "It's locked. Where are Blanche, BeatofSaint01, tigger2002guy and Jhudora?"

"Dey went out," said FeiFei. "Jhudy say somefing bout evil plan dey need stop. Den we have naptime."

"_What?_" Zoe complained. "Who else am I supposed to ask about the plot to overthrow Queen Fyora?"

"Library Faerie?" suggested FeiFei. "She know lotsa stuff, she help!"

Zoe weighed up the odds. She'd escaped while arrested, and the Library Faerie might know that and send her straight back. On the other hand, who else might know?

"For my second winess," announced Techo Lawyer, "I call up Miss opalgirl26."

Jess walked up to the witness box, although inwardly worrying about the questions she might be asked.

"Firstly, Miss opalgirl26, I hear you were the one aussiejewel first met with her loot."

Loot. Already with the stealing.

"No," replied Jess. "I was the one she first met with her purchases."

"But," warned Techo Lawyer, "how do you know she bought and did not steal?"

"She wasted 30,000NP of my money," Jess said. "Check my bank statements, if you wish. I rarely spend so much."

"But just a few days ago, you spent 130,000NP."

"That's not fair, I spent the money on two paint brushes."

"You didn't send out your pet to steal them for you?" laughed Techo Lawyer. The whole crowd laughed with him.

Jess felt like _kicking_ Techo Lawyer. He was so biased, and he even knew they weren't guilty, and he knew about the plot and everything... but she needed to get the message _out!_

"No, I didn't," Jess said, panicking slightly.

"But back to the matter at hand: you were the first aussiejewel shared her items with."

"Well, yeaaah...."

"Partners in crime!" Techo Lawyer cried, amused. Jess felt a twinge of impatience.

"Look, shut up and listen," Jess said, rising. "There's something wrong. Seriously wrong. The Faerie Queen is not in this room. No, she's not. The Faerie Queen's been kidnapped and that impostor up there is our judge and jury! And not only that, but sooner or later, people are going to find out who that impostor up there is. Neopia could descend into waaaa-"

Jess was cut off mid-word by another glowing eye strike by the Faerie Queen. Jess slumped, unconscious, in the witness box, knocked out in a fixed court, unable to not only save Neopia but also to defend herself against being frozen.

Alexa looked out through tearful eyes as her friend was taken away to their cell. She was the only one left now.  



	6. A Ten Minute Run

"Partners in crime!" Techo Lawyer cried, amused. Jess felt a twinge of impatience.

"Look, shut up and listen," Jess said, rising. "There's something wrong. Seriously wrong. The Faerie Queen is not in this room. No, she's not. The Faerie Queen's been kidnapped and that impostor up there is our judge and jury! And not only that, but sooner or later, people are going to find out who that impostor up there is. Neopia could descend into waaaa-"

Jess was cut off mid-word by another glowing eye strike by the Faerie Queen. Jess slumped, unconscious, in the witness box, knocked out in a fixed court, unable to not only save Neopia but also to defend herself against being frozen.

Alexa looked out through tearful eyes as her friend was taken away to their cell. She was the only one left now.

Jhudora and an invisible Blanche, BeatofSaint01 and tigger2002guy was wandering through the hiding place, looking for Fyora. Jhudora had suspected that she might be in some dark, creepy basement, only to find out that the hiding place didn't _have_ a dark, creepy basement. So then she suspected that Fyora was hidden in one of the four _really really high_ towers that were, no doubt, filled with spiders and cobwebs, but she wasn't there either. So then Jhudora got the brilliant idea to ask for directions from Maelstra.

"I want to give her a piece of my mind," was Jhudora's excuse, "for banning me from Faerie City."

"Good for you," Maelstra had smiled, and she told her that she was in the dark, creepy basement after all.

"What?" Jhudora asked. "_Which_ dark, creepy basement exactly?"

"The one that to get to via a trapdoor, hidden under the red rug in the living room," Maelstra answered.

"Oh," Jhudora replied stupidly.

Jhudora walked over to the red rug and pulled it away. Underneath, a painted green trapdoor stood out from the fluffy white carpet.

"Kind of redundant to have a rug on a carpet," Blanche remarked.

"Jump down," Jhudora whispered to the invisible trio, and so they did. As she dropped down, she closed the trapdoor after her.

"Fyora!" a relieved Blanche yelled. Jhudora then remembered to take the invisibility spell of the Neopets.

Fyora was conscious now, although still tied up.

"What's 'at?" Fyora muttered warily. "I still don't wanna eat," she mumbled at the purple figure approaching her.

"Fyora!" Jhudora said, quickly. "In ordinary circumstances, I'd have left you here... but some foolish rebels have decided to take over Neopia... and you know what, they don't know the first thing about running a country! And," she said, as an afterthought, "they're draining away your power to make you a Grey Faerie!"

"Can we stop them now?" asked Blanche, worried again. "Now you're conscious Fyora, can't you undrain power or something?"

"No," answered Fyora sadly. "Now I'm awake, I can preserve the power I have left... but I can't regain my old powers."

Jhudora untied the rope binding Fyora's wrists ever so carefully.

"You can untie your own ankles," she said after that, and left her alone.

"I must ask you," Fyora said gracefully but curiously, "What are you doing here? Why would you want to save me?"

"Neopia beckons," Jhudora replied cryptically. Blanche explained better.

"You're the only one who can prove to Neopia the Jahanara is an evil impostor and not the Faerie Queen because _you're_ the Faerie Queen... well, unfortunately technically she's the Faerie Queen now because she rules Neopia, but yoy _should_ be the Faerie Queen because your name, Fyora, technically means "Faerie Queen" in Old Faerie Language, and because she has to pretend she's you just to be the impostor Faerie Queen!"

I never said she explained it well, just better.

Fyora stood up now.

"Jhudora," she said seriously. "We have to conjure a portal... it's the only way all five of us can get out of here."

"We?" Jhudora asked. "You're the Faerie Queen. You're the strongest Faerie in Neopia... surely you can conjure a portal!"

"No," she replied. "I'm too weak, and I'm half a Grey Faerie already... weak even for the most tired and weak Faerie. But together we must be able to summon enough power."

Jhudora and Fyora closed their eyes really hard and concentrated.

For a whole sixty seconds.

"It's no-" tigger2002guy began to say, but then a circular window appeared, to a spot in front of a pink wall.

"You first," Jhudora said to Fyora. "No doubt the trial is nearly over by now."

"_Library Faerie!_" a confused (and visible again, the invisibility spell having worn off) Zoe yelled. "I need _help!_"

"Certainly," the Library Faerie smiled. "How may I help you this night?"

"I need to know how I can stop this mess," Zoe panted. Running miles in a land when she should be at her own trial wasn't good for her conscience.

The Library Faerie beamed. "We have plenty of books about messes. If you need help cleaning up your NeoHome, I recommend 101 Ways to Make Cleaning Fun by John Doe."

"What?" Zoe asked. "I need to know how I can put the right Fyora on the throne again because she's been kidnapped and this other Faerie's disguised as Fyora and she's going to freeze me and send me back to Earth if I don't stop her!"

"I am sorry. Only the Faerie Queen can clear up that mess. You must speak with her about it."

The Library Faerie was like a computer, Zoe thought.

"But the Faerie Queen's been kidnapped, remember? I told you just before!" she yelled angrily.

"Sorry, I can not help you," the Library Faerie smiled. "Enjoy your evening."

Zoe trudged outside none the better. A few steps away from the library, Zoe _really_ needed to kick something, she felt so angry.

So she kicked the library.

"How much longer?" Blanche complained. "This is so... exhausting..."

The five were now running along the Faerie Castle corridors, before the Neopets magically appeared in the pound.

"Ten minutes, maybe," Jhudora answered. "Provided we keep up this pace."

"Bu - but that's awful!" Blanche moaned.

"Save yourself, dear," Jhudora answered. "We will save the day. After all," she remarked, "All Neopian Times stories have a happy ending."

"But we're not a story," Blanche protested.

"Yes we are, darling," Jhudora said. "Or we will be when we fix this mess."

Blanche noticed that the picture of Jhudora had turned into a purple-and-green blur.

"Everything will be all right," Jhudora intoned hypnotically.

"All right..."

"Yes, everything will be all right," Jhudora repeated.

"All right..." said Blanche again, but the she brightened. "Well, we'd better hurry if we want to save the world!"

"Well, darling," Jhudora met up with Fyora. "Do what she said!"

Fyora, quite tired already, kept running along.

aussiejewel and Jess were roughly shaken awake two Grundo Guards.

"Whaddo ya wan, big nose?" aussiejewel asked sleepily.

"I'll get up when I feel like it," Jess said crossly.

"Stupid prisoners," mumbled one Grundo Guard.

Jess closed her eyes and opened them again. When her eyes were opened again, she was sleeping on the defendant's desk.

"Oopsie," she muttered, and sat up straight. "aussiejewel! aussiejewel, _wake up_... we're back here!"

aussiejewel whacked her owner's arm with her hoof, but then opened her eyes rather reluctantly.

"Oops," she said, while suddenly sitting up straight.

Alexa smiled at them hopefully from the other end of the desk, but whispered quietly, "is Zoe back yet?"

"Don't know," Jess muttered. I remember, I was talking in the witness box, but then this force thing forced me to close my eyes and sleep! And I was woken up by two Grundo Guards. I blinked, and when I opened my eyes again, I was here!"

"Ah," said Alexa. "Well, I had to listen to that idiotic Techo make remark after remark to make it seem we were certainly guilty. If I hadn't known you guys, well... I would have believed you were guilty, too!"

"So there's not much chance then?" aussiejewel asked sadly.

"Not much," Alexa said sadly.

aussiejewel began to cry, quietly.

Zoe suddenly popped out of nowhere into the fourth, previously empty, defendants' chair.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "How did I get here?"

"I think they have a summoning device," Alexa said. "It can call anyone to anywhere."

"That's nice," Zoe muttered sarcastically. "Okay now, _why_ did I get here?"

"They've got the verdict now," Alexa said. "I'm almost certain it's against us."

Jess hung her head in shame. She'd never actually broken the NeoLaw, but almost felt like she had.

"The verdict is here," announced the impostor Faerie Queen. "Defendants, please rise."

"diamondzoe4 and alexasparkleli," she began, "have been found to have knowingly assisting opalgirl26 and aussiejewel to scam the Hidden Tower. Therefore, they cannot be frozen and will instead both be issued a warning."

Zoe sighed with relief: a warning. She could live with that.

"opalgirl26 and aussiejewel, on the other hand," she continued, "you have both been found... what?"

The impostor Faerie Queen paused to stare at something at the back of the room.

"What on Neopia is going on?"


	7. The Worst Neopian Times Ever

"They've got the verdict now," Alexa said. "I'm almost certain it's against us."

Jess hung her head in shame. She'd never actually broken the NeoLaw, but almost felt like she had.

"The verdict is here," announced the impostor Faerie Queen. "Defendants, please rise."

"diamondzoe4 and alexasparkleli," she began, "have been found to have knowingly assisting opalgirl26 and aussiejewel to scam the Hidden Tower. Therefore, they cannot be frozen and will instead both be issued a warning."

Zoe sighed with relief: a warning. She could live with that.

"opalgirl26 and aussiejewel, on the other hand," she continued, "you have both been found... what?"

The impostor Faerie Queen paused to stare at something at the back of the room.

"What on Neopia is going on?"

"_Stop!_"

A loud, thundering voice issued from the back of the room. Everyone in the crowd turned around to look at the odd group: Jhudora, Fyora, Blanche, tigger2002guy and BeatofSaint01.

"This is madness, utter stupidity, idiocy, craziness..." Fyora stormed up to the front of the room, where she met with what could have passed as her identical twin.

"Reveal yourself!" she yelled loudly, and the other Faerie Queen's features blurred and morphed, until she became a young faerie, wearing black and red, with jet black, super straight hair.

"Is _this_ your Queen?" she spat, angrily.

The Techo Lawyer ran up quickly to try and defend Jahanara (the impostor Queen) - after all, they were in league with each other.

"_Guards!_" yelled Fyora. "Take these two to that nice dungeon downstairs."

Techo Lawyer and Jahanara were taken away, Jahanara screaming "_We're not the only ones! They'll still get you!_"

Queen Fyora wandered over to the defendant's table, almost cautiously. "Now, what's been happening here?"

"Well," said Zoe, "both Jess and aussiejewel have been knocked unconscious at one stage, and Alexa and I have been found guilty of helping Jess and aussiejewel scam the Hidden Tower... and that phony Techo Lawyer over there did nothing but _talk_, he hardly even asked questions, and all _we_ could do was _answer_ questions..."

"You are displeased," Fyora said grandly.

"Well, to put it in a word - yeah!"

"Don't worry," said Fyora. "All four of you will be given a full pardon. Now, I believe you have some family and friends to reunite yourselves with."

Jess, Zoe, Alexa and aussiejewel looked back at the three other pets. They got out from the defendant's desk, and ran towards their family and friends.

"That was wild!" tigger2002guy yelled. "We got this note thing that said you were arrested... and then Jhudora had this premonition thingy that said Fyora was kidnapped... so we went to a balcony place... and then Fyora was there... and then these Dark Faeries came along and went nyah, nyah, nyah, and then Fyora was _gone,_ so we went to the Dark Faeries' hideout, and Fyora was there, and we came up with a portal and we went run, run, run, run, run, run, to get to this courtroom place to save the day!" He jumped around excitedly to emphasize the point. As he was a Baby Kougra, this looked _very_ cute.

Jess laughed happily. "Well, thank goodness you _did_ save the day... imagine! Me, frozen? Well... at least I'm not!"

"Well, what happened with you?" asked Blanche. "Probably more interesting than ours, huh?"

"Only if you like headaches," said Jess.

"Or sore throats," added Alexa. "I think Zoe was the only one who wasn't injured at some point."

"Nah," Zoe insisted. "I stubbed my toe on the library."

"How'd you do that?" asked tigger2002guy.

"I kicked it."

Everyone laughed. This was so good. They hadn't all been together since... well, part one. About five hours ago.

"Pizza!" declared Jess. "After this, we all deserve some."

The group made their way to Jhudora's Cloud, where they picked up the seven petpets and took a flying transporting thing down to Neopia Central.

The group spent awhile discussing their different experiences on the whole thing. The petpets mentioned that they did a lot of sleeping - then they fell asleep. Typical petpets.

"The thing I don't understand," said Alexa, a slice of pizza held between her hooves, "was why Jahanara yelled 'they'll still get you... we're not the only ones? What does she mean, not the only ones? Who would the other ones even be?"

"Maelstra, I suppose," answered Blanche glumly. "And her gang. We encountered them enough... isn't that right, BeatofSaint01?"

"Guess so," answered BeatofSaint01. "Don't know what they could mean, though."

"Maybe," said tigger2002guy hopefully, "she'll join up with Doctor Sloth and there'll be another war, and I can fight... _arrr!_" tigger2002guy play-bounded at a toy left lying on the floor. "And maybe I'll be able to defeat these monsters really well! Mum, when was the last time I went to the battledome?"

Jess laughed. tigger2002guy was usually very active - he reminded her of a kitten, only he didn't drop off and sleep at random times. "It's one in the morning!" she cried. "You're lucky the pizza shop was even open at this time..."

"Oh _no!_" cried aussiejewel. "I need a mirror... how do I look? Gosh, I must look awful..."

aussiejewel bolted up the stairs, five at a time because she was a Uni, until she found the bathroom.

"That aussiejewel," laughed Zoe. "Send her off to save the world, and she fusses about some _mirror._"

"Do you think we really saved the world?" Jess asked. "I mean, _WE_ were the ones stuck in court listening to petty insults. I think I know who really saved the world."

"And who was that?" BeatofSaint01 asked eagerly.

"Jhudora," answered Jess. "From what you guys have said... you pretty much just tagged along, didn't you?"

"Nuh uh!" insisted tigger2002guy. "We talked, too!"

Jess laughed again. "Funny how the Neopian Times hasn't bothered to NeoMail us yet. I mean, someone saves Faerieland... you don't simply ignore them, right? You NeoMail them every few seconds. Well, I thought reporters did that anyway..."

"They're probably going to end up with some stupid article on how Jhudora and Jahanara attacked Fyora and the seven of us ran to help," Zoe said wisely. "You know how reporters are. If they forget to look up the truth... they make up the truth!"

"I know it," Jess said. "They'll probably be trying to tell us that the Chia Police saved the day or something, and we just NeoMailed them."

"Sounds like them," Alexa agreed. "Gee, I'm tired."

"Well, it's quarter past one," Jess said. "You guys should have gone to bed long ago. But then again, you guys should have gone to bed at the Faerie Castle or something. So, you guys should probably go to bed now."

Blanche, BeatofSaint01 and tigger2002guy ran up to bed, and also to tell aussiejewel that she shouldn't keep piling makeup on now, because it was bedtime.

"Have a great day," Jess said to Zoe and Alexa as they left. "And don't forget to tell me if an article pops up."

The next day....

"Mum!" yelled tigger2002guy excitedly. He bounded around the hallway excitedly.

"What?" asked Jess impatiently as she followed tigger2002guy to the kitchen table.

"We made the paper! We made the paper! We made the paper!" tigger2002guy chanted happily.

Jess sat down and started to read.

"FAERIRLAND - A scuffle happened in Faerieland two days ago that involved the Faerie Queen, Fyora, a Red Techo, and seven passers-by. Reports are still unclear, but it appears that Jhudora, Jahanara and the Red Techo conspired to take over the throne of Faerieland by arresting her. Luckily enough, rubygirl26, americanjewel, tigger1976girl, Alexa, emeraldzoe5, Blanche and SaintofBeat01 were there to save the day. They NeoMailed the Chia Police the following message: 'help, help! We are at Faerie Palace. Jhudora is here and she is attacking Fyora! And she's got another Dark Faerie with her!' The Chia Police responded quickly and well, sending 72 armed Chias storming inside the castle, arresting Jhudora and Jahanara. Jhudora was later released due to lack of evidence, but Jahanara remains in custody. 'This does NOT mean that Jhudora wasn't involved,' protested the Head of the Chia Police, Gerald the Chia. 'It merely means that she has outwitted us for now and covered her tracks. But don't worry, there will be a full enquiry into the matter and I am SURE that we'll get her this time!' The Chia Police have known that Jhudora is a master criminal for quite some time now, but she has outwitted them every time - hopefully not now. For our exclusive interview with american jewel, turn to page three."

So Jess turned to page three, already quite angry.

"I saw, like, two Dark, like, Faeries, with like, two purple wands. And, like, there was like, a big green flash, and like, Fyora was hurt, and like, I said, like, let's go tell the Chia Police. And the Chia Police fixed everything, like, totally. And then, like, Fyora said I, like, rocked and, like, I deserved, like, a medal for bravery. And, I, like, said no, and, like, she was totally hurt, but, like, I think she'll get over it."

tigger2002guy looked up at Jess, waiting for her comment.

"Complete and utter rubbish," Jess declared. "They didn't get our names right, that 'interview' with aussiejewel was baloney, and whole article's a pack of lies, and... it's just STUPID!"

Jess stormed away from the newspaper angrily.

"Must've been a BAAAAD few articles," tigger2002guy muttered.


End file.
